Suggested New Rules

Suggested New Rules

During a commercial break from the U.S. Open yesterday, I saw a short feature about the newly suggested rule having to do with taking a drop.

Does anyone else find it really strange that there are so many varied ways to drop being suggested? The idea was to simplify the rule, but instead, I think they've made it more complicated by virtue of so many choices.

For the life of me, I can't understand what was wrong with the rule as it was, to hold the ball at shoulder height and drop it without letting it roll off your hand, with the accompanying stuff about where it rolls, closer to the hole or farther than a club lengh, etc.

If you are allowed to drop a ball from 2" above the ground, do you really think anyone is going to take much chance of the ball rolling into a bad lie by dropping it from their shoulder if they think they can drop it so gently they can drop it into a good lie?

Some of the suggested new rules make a lot of sense, but I feel like this is a case of if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Re: Suggested New Rules

I don't see any problem with implementing the 1" minimum height rule apart from the fact that most of us oldies would have to get on our hands and knees to drop the ball from that height. I do query the fact that they are giving actual area measurements from a relief reference point in inches e.g 20" or 50.8 cm, I did ask if our club had considered giving the new rules a test run as suggested by the R&A but we have had a few changes at the club so not a the moment.

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Re: Suggested New Rules

The R&A announced that they would be using "Ready Golf" for the stroke play portion of the 2017 British Amateur championships. I haven't yet how any of the players who took part felt about it or comments from those who were there as to whether it had any impact on pace of play,

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Re: Suggested New Rules

In match play, ready golf would remove the strategic element of playing first to put pressure on the opponent. I wonder if anyone would be bothered by it when their playing partner hit it close in medal play?

Anything that speeds up play might be looked at as generally good, but certain things about playing from the farthest away first just seem to make sense.

Re: Suggested New Rules

In match play, ready golf would remove the strategic element of playing first to put pressure on the opponent. I wonder if anyone would be bothered by it when their playing partner hit it close in medal play?

Anything that speeds up play might be looked at as generally good, but certain things about playing from the farthest away first just seem to make sense.

Along those lines... what do you think about having a subset of rules that only kick in during certain types of competition? I'd love to see greater focus on speed of play without having to worry about how it might impact strategy. Let's face it - the other foursomes on the course that day don't give a hoot about me competing against my buddy for beer money or what height I drop the ball from after declaring a ball unplayable. All they want is for me to play at least as fast as they do and to know that my measured handicap is roughly accurate (in case they ever play me for beer money).

Re: Suggested New Rules

In match play, ready golf would remove the strategic element of playing first to put pressure on the opponent. I wonder if anyone would be bothered by it when their playing partner hit it close in medal play?

Anything that speeds up play might be looked at as generally good, but certain things about playing from the farthest away first just seem to make sense.

Along those lines... what do you think about having a subset of rules that only kick in during certain types of competition? I'd love to see greater focus on speed of play without having to worry about how it might impact strategy. Let's face it - the other foursomes on the course that day don't give a hoot about me competing against my buddy for beer money or what height I drop the ball from after declaring a ball unplayable. All they want is for me to play at least as fast as they do and to know that my measured handicap is roughly accurate (in case they ever play me for beer money).

I most certainly hope there won't be different sets of Rules. Learning even one set of Rules stroke play is (unfortunately) quite a lot to ask for a casual golfer. I would hate to see the day people start mixing up rules from one format to another and struggle to remember which format allowed you to do certain things. Several sets of official rules would just complicate things for players and rules officials alike.

Like you said, if you're playing in one flight with your pals, no one outside of that flight cares about anything you do as long as you respect the etiquette.

Also, there must be loads of such "own rules" and if people don't play by the actual Rules, I'm positive most of the "relaxed rules" groups would steer away even from the "Official Relaxed Rules" because they're not the same as the ones they had gotten used to.

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Re: Suggested New Rules

Call it "own rules" or "relaxed rules", whatever you please. What we do for casual games isn't really the question I was posing. I just feel there's been such an effort to simplify the rules, but I find all this added variation in how you are allowed to drop to be contrary to the spirit of what the rules making bodies say they are trying to do.

If you have one way, holding the ball at shoulder height in front of you and dropping without being allowed to spin it off your fingers, it seems really simple to me. I don't know why they stopped dropping over the shoulder like we did in the past. Adding so many options to how we will drop if this rule is adopted just doesn't make sense, at least not to me.

Going back to rules we play by in our casual games, the one I see changed most, and this is to speed up play, is dropping a ball at a point near where a ball has been lost or hit OB. The player should go back to the tee, but I don't know anyone who bothers when the course is even slightly crowded.

There was actually a story a few years ago about some guys getting into a physical altercation over a slow round when someone returned to the tee. Fists flew, the player's driver was broken over a knee and it actually made the paper.

Re: Suggested New Rules

In match play, ready golf would remove the strategic element of playing first to put pressure on the opponent. I wonder if anyone would be bothered by it when their playing partner hit it close in medal play?

Anything that speeds up play might be looked at as generally good, but certain things about playing from the farthest away first just seem to make sense.

"Ready golf" should be implemented everywhere immediately, but the condition should be that the ready player must get the consent of the player who is furthest from the hole first (a quick "yo!" and a hand raise from the ready guy, followed by a nod from the furthest away guy should suffice).

6 iron Swing speed 84mphTempo 3Toe Down 5Kick Angle 2Release Factor 8

Leslie Nielsen:There is no movement in golf that cannot be made more difficult through diligent study and practice.

Re: Suggested New Rules

In match play, ready golf would remove the strategic element of playing first to put pressure on the opponent. I wonder if anyone would be bothered by it when their playing partner hit it close in medal play?

Anything that speeds up play might be looked at as generally good, but certain things about playing from the farthest away first just seem to make sense.

"Ready golf" should be implemented everywhere immediately, but the condition should be that the ready player must get the consent of the player who is furthest from the hole first (a quick "yo!" and a hand raise from the ready guy, followed by a nod from the furthest away guy should suffice).

Downside to that is you could then get the situation whereby people are shouting out loud on every hole and putting people off on other holes.

A better solution would be as you all leave the teeing ground just agreeing that whoever reaches their ball first they play and so on until the hole is finished or they're all on the green.

Re: Suggested New Rules

A better solution would be as you all leave the teeing ground just agreeing that whoever reaches their ball first they play and so on until the hole is finished or they're all on the green.

This conversation has continued for a long time now with local golfing friends.

Considering the ridiculous heat and humidity here, 99% of people use a riding cart. The habit with my Monday morning foursome is, provided nobody has hit a really short drive, to go look for anyone in the rough first. Sometimes when found, that player will go ahead and hit their second shot even though we might go slightly backwards to another player's ball in the fairway.

More times than not, we do this when there are people in front of us and during time we'd be waiting anyway.